Arsenal celebrate scoring the second goal of the game (Image: REUTERS)

Fans invade the pitch following the full-time whistle during last season's game (Image: REUTERS)

From a run that saw them overcome Leeds, AFC Wimbledon and Cheltenham before the Arsenal game, prize money, TV broadcast and commercial fees earned Sutton a cool £710,000 - enough to pay the squad for a whole season.

Then they cashed in on additional sponsorship deals and mammoth gate receipts. And almost every penny has been carefully invested in their home ground.

This weekend, Sutton begin their campaign in this season's FA Cup in the fourth qualifying round, as they look to replicate their heroics.

"The money has 99 per cent gone back into the ground and the facilities," chairman Bruce Elliott told Mirror Football , as we returned to Gander Green Lane to find out the impact of the FA Cup run.

Sutton boss Paul Doswell is dreaming of another cup run (Image: Ian Tuttle for FA)

"We don't budget for a cup run. We never have and we never will, so our budget is never based on getting a run in the FA Cup or FA Trophy.

"So from that point of view, we are delighted that we have been able to invest it back into the facilities and make it a better place for the spectators to come and enjoy watching their football."

Sutton have already installed new scoreboard, LED floodlights and turnstiles, while the electrics throughout the ground have been improved. There’s also a new club shop and a TV gantry is planned for the near future.

They have also refurbished the home and away dressing rooms with both increasing in size.

The tiny changing facilities that Arsenal were left with (Image: Arsenal FC)

But there may be one person actually unhappy that the dingy visiting facilities have been changed: Arsene Wenger.

"I think he thoroughly enjoyed it," Elliott said. "I apologised to him for the size of the dressing rooms and he said that people forget that he came from a very small club in France where the dressing rooms were even smaller.

"He actually said to me that he prefers a small dressing room as it brings him closer to the players.

"If he plays us again, he might be disappointed that he have enlarged them!"

Cup fever swept the town of Sutton (Image: Getty Images Europe)

A huge crowd crammed into Gander Green Lane for the game (Image: REUTERS)

Premier League connections can prove invaluable for non-league clubs, both for finances and for brand awareness.

Following the cup tie last year, Arsenal donated £50,000 to Sutton to help them build new classrooms.

"They enjoyed their time with us and we have stayed in contact with them ever since," Elliott said.

"There is an ongoing dialogue which is obviously nice for us to have as a club playing at this level and I would like to think that would continue.

"Who knows what may come out of it at some point in time."

Sutton's Gander Green Lane home from the air (Image: PA)

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Sutton travel to Paulton Rovers, three levels lower, for a place in the first round proper this weekend.

While a run to even the final qualifying stage will prove lucrative to Bristol-based minnows Paulton, they will be dreaming of repeating Sutton's heroics to cash in further.

"It is obviously an important part of the cup," FA head of competitions David Newton said.

"This year, the FA Cup had 737 teams enter the competition and part of the attraction for many of them clubs is the redistribution of money through the football pyramid, so it is an important aspect of what the competition is about.

Elliott stands alongside the FA Cup's Head of Competitions, David Newton (Image: Ian Tuttle for FA)

Suttonare the underdogs once again when the FA Cup returns this weekend (Image: Getty Images Europe)

"The Emirates FA Cup inspires fans, players and clubs to believe that anything is possible – as demonstrated by Sutton’s incredible feat in last year’s competition.

"Success and the sizeable financial benefits the competition brings can help safeguard the future of a club like Sutton."

While a million pound run is some distance away, the 32 winning non-league clubs this weekend will take home £12,500 and a spot in the first round.

Come Monday evening, those clubs will be in Sutton's shoes from last year, watching on intently to see if they can land a lucrative tie against Wigan, Blackburn, Portsmouth or the likes.

Can Sutton repeat their run to the fifth round this time around? “You’d like to think so, but reality says that probably not,” manager Paul Doswell said.

“I think it is a once in a lifetime dream that we were involved in last year. Never say never in football, but I think we have probably had our one magical year.”